Mud-conveyer



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet I.

W. A. PHILLIPS.

MUD OONVEYER'.

No. 246,032. Patented Aug. 23,1881;

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o N l R; v Q N j (No-Model.) 6Sheets-Sheet 2 W. AQPHILLIPS.

MUD GONVEYER.

No. 246,032. Patented Aug. 23,1881.

(No Model.)

BSheetv-Sheat 3. W. A. PHILLIPS.

MUD GONVEYER.

No. 246,032. Patented Aug. 23,1881

J L 1 J a: Q n"! (C) I it 3 N L N i (No Model.) 6 Sneets-Sheet 5.

' W. A. PHILLIPS.

MUD GONVEYER.

No. 246,032 Patented AugJ'ZS, 1881.

N. PETzRs Phnlw-Liihognphor, Washinglcll. 0.0,

(No Model.) GSheets-Sheet 6.

' W. PHILLIPS.

, MUD GON'VEYER. No. 246,032. Patented Augy23, 1881.

rt PUERII Mal-"W. wmlngmn. a;

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'WILLIAM A. PHILLIPS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

MUD-,CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 246,032, dated August23, 1881.

Application filed June 16, 1881. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. PnLLLrPs, of San Francisco, county of SanFrancisco, and State of California, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mud-Conveyers, of which the following is a full, clear,and

exact description, reference being had to the levees on river banks,filling in lots, fertilizing, or otherwise disposing of the material foruseful purposes or for waste, as is sometimes required; and the objectof my invention is to produce a simple, complete, efficient, andeasily-operatin g apparatus, bymeans of which the loading may bequickly, easily, and properly performed, the load transported to anydesired distance, and then discharged to advantage and with littleexpense for power, 850. To accomplish this the invention involvescertain novel and useful arrangements or combinations of parts,peculiarities of construction, and principles of operation, all of whichwill be first fully described herein, and then pointed out in theclaims.

In theaccompanyingdrawings, lhaveshown at Figure 1 an elevation of onehalf or one portion of a m ud-conveye'r constructed and arranged to beoperated in accordance with my invention, the side of the vessel beingremoved to show the interior arrangement of tanks, 850., and at Fig. 2an elevation of the remaining half or portion of the same vessel, theside remaining in place. Fig. 3 is a half-plan with the deck removed,and Fig. 4 is a half-plan with the deck in place. Fig. 5 is a sectionand partial elevation, showing one form of hopper connected with adredger, and adapted to receive and operate upon the material to beloaded and to deliver the same to the tanks in the mudconveyer. Fig. 6is a plan view indicating, on an enlarged scale, the construction andarrangement of the cross-bars or gratings placed in the hopper. Fig. 7is a section and partial elevation, showing another form of hopperconnected with a dredger or excavator, and adapted to deliver thematerial to the tanks the bars.

in the mud-conveyer. Fig. 8 is a vertical section of a hopper similar tothat shown in Fig. 5, but on an enlarged-scale, so as to illustrate theinclined projections placed upon and beneath the grate-bars.

In all these figures like letters of reference, wherever they occur,indicate corresponding parts.

Since it is one purpose of my invention to discharge the material fromthe tanks through pipes by means of water-pressure, as willhereinafter-appear, it is obvious that the material should be broken upand freed from sticks, blocks, stones, and other matters likely toobstruct its free movement before it is admitted to the tanks. Toaccomplish this I erect upon any convenient part of a dredge, excavator,or other structure, as 0, any suitable frame or support, 0, upon which Imount the hopper or vessel A, calculated to receive the material beforeit is delivered to the tanks D. This hopper A has inclined sides, asshown, or is substantially conical in shape, the better to re ceive anddischarge the material as required.

Within the hopper A, and coveringits discharge end, I locate a toothedgrating, B, upon which the material is to be dropped. This grating iscomposed of cross-bars suffi cient to bind the whole firmly together,substantially as indicated at Fig. 6, and upon the bars of the gratingare a convenient number of upwardly-projecting teeth, 01 d, to break upfrom which the grating B is suspended by means of connecting-links, asat c c.

B is a rod connecting the movable grating with any convenientcrank-wheel, B and intended to be moved by suitable machinery orotherwise. The ribs of the cross-bars of the grating are inclined ortapering at bottom, so as to insure the free delivery 01" the materialafter it passes between the upper surfaces of The cross'bars will, whenin motion, serve to break up any solidified mud which may be droppedupon them, and the whole grating will arrest any sticks, blocks, stones,or material of too bulky nature to be easilydischarged from the tanks.It is intended to keep the grating in motion so long as material isbeing dumped upon it, or so long as maybe necessary, considering thecharacter of the material.

At the bottom of the hopper is attached a spout or pipe, 0, fitted to acircular ring,f, Fig. 5, which spout or pipe is set at an angle whichwill allow of free fall or slide of the mud to the tank below; and it isarranged so as to turn on or with said ring, in order that its dischargeend may be conveniently directed as may be required for filling thetanks below. This arrangement avoids the necessity of using more thanone hopper, no matter how many tanks or scows, 850., may be employed,since the seows are simply passed under the spout in order to be filledThe conveyor proper, which may be in the form of a scow or othersuitable vessel intended to be floated from point to point, has fittedin it a number or series of tanks, D 1), (any desired number,) and thesetanks are connected with each other at bottom by means of branch pipesE, leading into a main discharge-pipe, F, conveniently located withrespect to the tanks in the vessel.

At the tops of the tanks in the vessel are the overflow-pipes G G,intended to carry off the water displaced by the mud when the tanks arebeing filled. Thepipes Gdischarge through the sides of the vessel, asplainly indicated. To these overflow pipes are connected the branchinduction pipes h h, for the supply of the water-pressure hereinafteralluded to, and

both the pipes G and h are fitted with suitable water gates or valves, KK, each tank being similarly supplied, so that one or more tanks may bedischarged atone time.

Opposite the outlet from each tank, or opposite the mouths of the branchdischarge-pipes E, are fitted small pipes, (shown at I I,) each having asuitable valve and a hose or similar nozzle. The use of these pipes andnozzles is to direct a stream of water toward or into the opening ofpipes E, thus starting in motion sand or other heavy substances that maysettle at the bottom of the tanks, and relieving the pressure that wouldotherwise be required to start the material in the line of discharge.The water and pressure for the pipes I are intended to be supplied bymeans of a small pump independent of the main supply-pump. The pressureon top of the mud forces it into the orifice of the discharge E, thereto be reduced by the jet from pipe I to a semi-fluid condition, ifnecessary. The consistency can be regulated by use of the valves on thejetpipes, and if the material is thin enough the jet can be shut offentirely.

The inlets L to each tank are of the usual man-hole pattern, and arefitted with rubber gaskets or otherwise, so that they maybe made tight.The inlets being opened for the reception of material, it is directedinto the tanks through the spout O, the tanks being previously full orpartially filled with water, which prevents the material from lodgingagainst the sides of the tank, and acts as a lubricator and solvent tofacilitate discharge. The tanks being loaded, the man-holes are closed,and the scow or vessel transported to the desired point for delivery.

The discharge end of pipe F (shown in vertical' position at Fig. 1)being suitably connected with the landing-pipe, which latter may lead toany desired distance, and to the point where it is desired to have thematerial deposit ed,ahydraulic pressureisproducedin each tankseparately, or in two or more or all at one time, and the material inthe tanks thus driven or forced out through pipes E and into F, andthence out to destination.

The hydraulic pressure necessary for accomplishing the dischargingofthetanksisobtained by means of any suitable form of pump, arranged toforce water into the tanks through the pipe H and its connections. Thispump may be mostadvantageouslyoperatedbysteam, and it may be mounted,together with its boiler, upon the conveyer or upon a separate "essel,to be moved only as the place of discharging or unloading is changed.There being nothing peculiar about the pump or boiler, and both beingwell understood, it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate themherein. The incoming water displaces the mud, &c., in the tanks, as willbe readily understood. This water used for displacement is generallyallowed to remain in the tanks until they are being refilled, when it isdisplaced wholly or in part through the overflow-pipes G, as previouslyexplained. When the tanks are disposed as in the plan Fig. 3 the longspout 0 (shown in Fig. 6) will serve to discharge material into three ofthem (by turning the spout) before it will be necessary to'shift thescow or conveyer in order to bring other tanks within rangeof the spout;but instead of being arranged as in Fig. 3 the tanks may be placed sideby side, and in that case a spout like that indicated in Fig. 7 may beemployed, which will serve to load two tanks at one time, or withoutchanging the position of the conveyor.

Suitable gates may be placed in either form of spout, as plainly shown,for the purpose of regulating the discharge therefrom.

The bottoms of the tanks are inclined toward their outlet-orifices, tobetter insure the settlingofthe mud, 850., into these outlets, and tofacilitate discharge. The tops of the tanks may also be made conical orinclined, as shown at Figs. 1 and 5.

If it be desired to reduce the height to which it is necessary toelevate the dredged material, then flat-topped tanks may be employed, asindicated in Fig. 7. The conical tops, however, are best adapted forwithstanding the interior pressure, and are easier and handier to make.

It will be observed that the outlet-branches E are inclined toward theaxis of the main discharge-pipe F, thus avoiding abrupt turns in theoutlet, which would be harder for the material to pass; and it will alsobe observed that there are no valves in the outlet pipes or branches.

Each tank beingfilled, and the outlet through E being free, it is plainthat the pressure of material in any tank will be sufficient to prevententrance therein of material from any other tank, and that one or moretanks may be discharged without interfering with the others in any way;but if desired for any reason or purpose any suitable valves or gatesmay be placed in pipes E or F.

The tanks being filled with the material to be discharged, and theproper connections made with the pump and the landing-pipe, the jet atbottom should be first opened, after which the main hydraulic pressureis introduced on top. The pump should be timed so that it will throwinto the tank the requisite number of gallons to displace the mud, andit may then be made to communicate with another tank, and so on with thewhole or until all are unloaded.

The object of mounting the tanks upon a scow or floating vessel isconvenience of transportation and facility of obtaining water; but thesame system might be applied upon cars, ofsuitable form, in situationswhere they could be worked to advantage.

The valves, 850., are all operable from the exterior of the tanks, andtheir stems or handles are conveniently arranged, so as to be accessiblefrom the deck of the scow or vessel.

There is no machinery about the system to get out of order, andparticularly none to be interfered with or to become clogged up by thematerial designed to be transported.

The convenience, completeness, and durability of the improved apparatusare features which will recommend it for adoption in locations wheredredgings, &c., are required to be landed or delivered at particularpoints.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In combination with adrcdging-scow and receiving-tanks, theherein-described movable grating, located in the hopper which receivesmaterial from the dredger, the same being adapted to break up the clodsof mud, and to separate sticks, blocks, or stones therefrom beforedelivering it to the tanks, substantially as shown and described.

2. The hopper suspended from or supported by the dredger, and providedwith a spout for delivering material to the tanks below, and having,also, a movable grating mounted th erein, and adapted to be operatedsubstantially as shown and described.

3. The movable grating B, composed of bars and connecting-ribs, asshown, the lower edges of the ribs being inclined or sharpened tofacilitate delivery of material, and the upper surface being providedwith projecting teeth cl 61, substantially as shown and described.

4:. The hopper A, suspended from or supported by the dredger O, the samebeing provided with a spout, G, and with a grating, B, having teeth (Id, said grating being suspended from cross-bar b by links 0 c, andoperated by bar B and wheel B the whole being combined and arranged tooperate substantially as shown and described.

5. In a mud-conveyer of the character herein set forth, the series oftanks mounted in or on a scow or other vessel, each tank being providedwith a man-hole at top and with inclined bottoms, and each provided witha branch pipe, E, leading from the bottom into the main discharge-pipe Isubstantially as shown and described.

6. In a mud-conveyer, the series of tanks D D, having branch pipes Eleading into the main dischargepipe I said branch pipes being inclinedtoward the axis of pipe F, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

7. The overflow pipes G, communicating with the tanks D, and providedwith suitable valves, said overflow-pipes being arranged to dischargewater from the tanks as the latter are being filled, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

8. In combination with the series of tanks provided with overflow-pipes,the main waterinlet pipes H,for introducing water to force the mud outthrough pipes E and I the whole arranged to operate substantially asshown and described.

9. The jet'pipes I, arranged to deliver a stream of waterin thedirection of the outlets from the bottoms of the tanks, for the purposeof facilitating the discharge of mud, substantially as shown anddescribed.

10. The method herein described of loading and discharging theconveyerthat is to say,

first dropping the material after freeing it from blocks, stones,&c.,into tanks, discharging the material from the tanks by forcing waterinto them above the material, and then displacing the said water by theintroduction of the next l0ad-'substantially as described.

11. Theherein-desoribed m ud-conveyer,composed of the tanks D, havingoutlet-pipes E communicating with main dischargepipe F, the jet-pipes I,overflow-pipes Gr, water-inlet pipes H, and man-holes L, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand inthe presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. PHILLIPS.

Witnesses:

PETER MAoKrE, H. B. OOUSINS.

